Gerald Shamash

Gerald David Shamash, Baron Shamash (born 23 May 1947), is a British lawyer and life peer. He has acted as a solicitor for the Labour Party since 1990 and was appointed a member of the House of Lords in 2024.

Early life and education Shamash was born on 23 May 1947 in Manchester to Joseph and Victoria Shamash, Iraqi-Jewish parents who came to England from Baghdad. The family moved to London when Shamash's brother-in-law (and first cousin) Robert Sheldon was elected to Parliament in 1964. Shamash joined the Labour Party in 1969 after involvement in student politics and the Anti-Apartheid Movement. it merged with Edwards Duthie in 2019 to form Edwards Duthie Shamash, having worked for the party since at least 1983. and was created Baron Shamash, of West Didsbury in the City of Manchester, on 6 March 2024.

On 31 July 2025, he was a leading signatory of a letter from 38 House of Lords members opposing the UK's plan to recognise a State of Palestine: the peers said Palestine “does not meet the international law criteria for recognition of a state, namely, defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states”.

Personal life In 1975, Shamash married Naomi Angell, a specialist in international adoption law;

Shamash is Jewish but not religious.